My father refuses to get on the camera when I webchat with him and my mother. It's like talking to my mother and the disembodied voice of God or something, because he wants to participate but goes off into random rooms and just shouts back at us while doing something else. When I finally pressed him about it and said that it was distracting, he said that he didn't like the way the camera made him look fat. He won't webchat with me...because the camera angle makes him look fat.

That'd be me, I hate, hate, hate webcams. I'll happily chat without the video on but if I accidentally turn the camera on I get the look of a confused cat while trying to turn the thing off.

On Saturday night we went to our favorite Mom and Pop restaurant for their yummy Prime Rib. I have a bad hip so prefer one of the tables by the bus stations so that the back is solid and there is nobody behind me.

It is VERY rare that they are busy but for some reason, they were. We were waiting for a table along with about 4 other groups of people. The hostess catches my eye to let us know that our favorite table is empty and tells us she can take us back just as SS comes in the door. SS decided that she was talking to him and follows the hostess back. The hostess is a young teenager and had no idea what to do. She seats them and comes back to the front to apologize to us. We told her that itís not a problem and that we would take the next table that comes open even if it is not one of our preferred tables. We are seated a few minutes later at a table about 2 away from our favorite one where the SS was sitting.

SS and wife Also-SS complained the whole time that they were there! The bus staff doesnít speak perfect English, the food is taking too long to get there, they didnít like the veggie of the day, they didnít like the homemade rolls, and the dťcor is trashy (Wonderful handmade Native American carvings and paintings) It was horrible to listen to such a wonderful place being trashed. They demanded to speak to the manager.

The owner came to the table to talk to them and did a double take when he saw us sitting a few tables away, went back up front for a moment then returned. He listened to their complaints and told them that they were welcome to pay their bill and not return if that was their choice but they were not getting anything free. He also told them that he was the only one allowed to abuse his staff and if they didnít like the table they were sat at then they should not have jumped in line ahead of everyone who was waiting and the people who were being called back who actually LIKE that table and ask for it specifically. SS paid their bill and left. No wonder with an owner like that his staff stays there forever.

I just returned from my history final. The teacher had to throw out one student because she brought her three year old child who.would.not.shut.up. He was so loud that even putting the mother and child in the hall was still too loud for most. The mom was furious about it because we were discriminating against her, as a mother, and "just because I have a child does not mean I should fail the course" - So the rest of us should?

Even after being told she could take the exam in a room alone she was not satisfied...and went stomping off, yelling about how we were discriminating against her because she is a parent. It would have been annoying but not fatal for her to bring the kid, if he would be quiet so we could take the exam...but allowing your child to talk in an "outside voice" during a final exam, while you answer him in a normal,conversational tone, plants this person firmly in the SS territory for me.

I just returned from my history final. The teacher had to throw out one student because she brought her three year old child who.would.not.shut.up. He was so loud that even putting the mother and child in the hall was still too loud for most. The mom was furious about it because we were discriminating against her, as a mother, and "just because I have a child does not mean I should fail the course" - So the rest of us should?

Even after being told she could take the exam in a room alone she was not satisfied...and went stomping off, yelling about how we were discriminating against her because she is a parent. It would have been annoying but not fatal for her to bring the kid, if he would be quiet so we could take the exam...but allowing your child to talk in an "outside voice" during a final exam, while you answer him in a normal,conversational tone, plants this person firmly in the SS territory for me.

If I had been the professor, I would have failed the woman solely on the basis that she was talking during the exam. Final exams are something you know the timing of months in advance - she could have and should have arranged a sitter and a back-up sitter and a back-up back-up sitter.

I just returned from my history final. The teacher had to throw out one student because she brought her three year old child who.would.not.shut.up. He was so loud that even putting the mother and child in the hall was still too loud for most. The mom was furious about it because we were discriminating against her, as a mother, and "just because I have a child does not mean I should fail the course" - So the rest of us should?

Even after being told she could take the exam in a room alone she was not satisfied...and went stomping off, yelling about how we were discriminating against her because she is a parent. It would have been annoying but not fatal for her to bring the kid, if he would be quiet so we could take the exam...but allowing your child to talk in an "outside voice" during a final exam, while you answer him in a normal,conversational tone, plants this person firmly in the SS territory for me.

I just returned from my history final. The teacher had to throw out one student because she brought her three year old child who.would.not.shut.up. He was so loud that even putting the mother and child in the hall was still too loud for most. The mom was furious about it because we were discriminating against her, as a mother, and "just because I have a child does not mean I should fail the course" - So the rest of us should?

Even after being told she could take the exam in a room alone she was not satisfied...and went stomping off, yelling about how we were discriminating against her because she is a parent. It would have been annoying but not fatal for her to bring the kid, if he would be quiet so we could take the exam...but allowing your child to talk in an "outside voice" during a final exam, while you answer him in a normal,conversational tone, plants this person firmly in the SS territory for me.

Isn't that against most university policies?

Which is why I think she's an SS - especially since the prof offered her an alternative.

I just returned from my history final. The teacher had to throw out one student because she brought her three year old child who.would.not.shut.up. He was so loud that even putting the mother and child in the hall was still too loud for most. The mom was furious about it because we were discriminating against her, as a mother, and "just because I have a child does not mean I should fail the course" - So the rest of us should?

Even after being told she could take the exam in a room alone she was not satisfied...and went stomping off, yelling about how we were discriminating against her because she is a parent. It would have been annoying but not fatal for her to bring the kid, if he would be quiet so we could take the exam...but allowing your child to talk in an "outside voice" during a final exam, while you answer him in a normal,conversational tone, plants this person firmly in the SS territory for me.

Isn't that against most university policies?

Not any university policies that I've heard of. Lack of planning on the SSMom's part, should not constitute interruptions to other students. And I'm not sure of how OP's school works, but at my school you have multiple ways to take a final including via computer and by hand in a large auditorium with multiple dates offered.

I just returned from my history final. The teacher had to throw out one student because she brought her three year old child who.would.not.shut.up. He was so loud that even putting the mother and child in the hall was still too loud for most. The mom was furious about it because we were discriminating against her, as a mother, and "just because I have a child does not mean I should fail the course" - So the rest of us should?

Even after being told she could take the exam in a room alone she was not satisfied...and went stomping off, yelling about how we were discriminating against her because she is a parent. It would have been annoying but not fatal for her to bring the kid, if he would be quiet so we could take the exam...but allowing your child to talk in an "outside voice" during a final exam, while you answer him in a normal,conversational tone, plants this person firmly in the SS territory for me.

Isn't that against most university policies?

Not any university policies that I've heard of. Lack of planning on the SSMom's part, should not constitute interruptions to other students. And I'm not sure of how OP's school works, but at my school you have multiple ways to take a final including via computer and by hand in a large auditorium with multiple dates offered.

In my experience, it depends on the college and subject. Online courses will most likely have online testing as well. Many of our colleges require exams, especially final exams, to be taken in the computer labs under stringent test conditions. No professor/teaching assistant at my university would allow a child in the room during an exam.

I just returned from my history final. The teacher had to throw out one student because she brought her three year old child who.would.not.shut.up. He was so loud that even putting the mother and child in the hall was still too loud for most. The mom was furious about it because we were discriminating against her, as a mother, and "just because I have a child does not mean I should fail the course" - So the rest of us should?

Even after being told she could take the exam in a room alone she was not satisfied...and went stomping off, yelling about how we were discriminating against her because she is a parent. It would have been annoying but not fatal for her to bring the kid, if he would be quiet so we could take the exam...but allowing your child to talk in an "outside voice" during a final exam, while you answer him in a normal,conversational tone, plants this person firmly in the SS territory for me.

Isn't that against most university policies?

Not any university policies that I've heard of. Lack of planning on the SSMom's part, should not constitute interruptions to other students. And I'm not sure of how OP's school works, but at my school you have multiple ways to take a final including via computer and by hand in a large auditorium with multiple dates offered.

At the last university I attended, you had an assigned time and place to take the exam unless the prof decided to do it online or as a take-home; that could be changed if need be (too many exams on a given day, disability accommodations, etc.), but unless you were terribly ill and had a doctor's note, all arrangements had to be made well in advance. If your babysitter bailed on you at the last minute, that's one thing - talk to the prof and make alternate arrangements. But expecting to be allowed to disrupt everyone else in the class while they're trying to take the exam? VERY VERY SS. Fail-worthy.

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What part of v_e = \sqrt{\frac{2GM}{r}} don't you understand? It's only rocket science!

"The problem with re-examining your brilliant ideas is that more often than not, you discover they are the intellectual equivalent of saying, 'Hold my beer and watch this!'" - Cindy Couture

If the babysitter bails on you at the last minute, you show up a bit early (if possible) and apologize thoroughly to the professor. You show him/her how you have done as much as you could to ensure your kid stays quiet (bring quiet toys/books, etc.) and you tell how willing you are to take the test at another time if he/she prefers or you can take the test then and hope the kid stays quiet or you can take the test in another room. You explain again about how your sitter bailed on you at the last minute and you're really stuck. Since you are always conscientious about being on time to class and are a model polite student, the professor is likely to believe you and may make as many accommodations as he/she can.

What you don't do is to show up like nothing is wrong and then annoy every single one of your peers while you're supposed to be taking your test.

We had a school excursion last week. Pick up time after the excursion was 5. That was on the note sent home before the excursion and on the reminder note, plus we let the children know when we were 15 minutes away so they could call their parents to confirm that we were on time (all had their phones with them). Note that this was not a compulsory excursion.

The vast majority of parents were waiting for their kids when the buses arrived back at school, but half a dozen were 10-15 minutes late. I understand that it's easy for that to happen so no big deal, but not a one apologised or thanked us for waiting. The worst was a woman who had a meeting and so didn't even leave her meeting until 10 minutes after the buses were back at the school and almost every child had left. She was 45 minutes late in the end. No apology, no thanks, nothing. Just pull up and let her daughter jump in the car.

If we had returned early that would have been fine, but this woman knew for two MONTHS what time she would have to be at the school to pick up her child. Yet she was quite miffed at having to leave her meeting, apparently .

Why do interstate highways bring out the most Special Snowflakes Ever? I'm 1250 miles into what if ultimately a journey of a tad more than 4000 miles. Granted, I'm taking a bit of the long way (Seattle, WA; San Diego, CA; Ft. Worth, TX, Atlanta, GA; then Miami, FL), but between winter driving conditions over the Rockies and wanting to visit a few people, I felt that the extra couple hundred miles was worth it. So, today, as I was closing in on the final stretch into San Diego (yay!!! I get to hang out with one of my most favoritest people EVER) I encountered the SSiest driver I've ever seen.

A bit of background: Tejon Pass on I-5 can be quite dicey. The southbound assent is rather steep (reported 6% grade over 5 miles, total vertical assent 2613 feet over 11.6 miles). There are 4 travel lanes. The two an the right are generally reserved for semis, RV's and vehicles that are towing something. The third lane is generally for slower moving passenger vehicles and the 4th for faster moving passengers vehicles. As you begin the southbound assent, drivers are warned to turn off their a/c's in order to avoid overheating and there are water stations every quarter to half mile, along with a number of highway personel to assist if required. I'm no longer an inexperienced mountain driver. While I haven't been driving in these sorts of conditions for a long time, I am otherwise a skilled driver and gained quite a bit of experience travelling across the US earlier this year when I drove through the northern Rockies (Montana, Idaho) and the Cascades (Washington State, Oregon), and, of course, all the mountain passes in OR and CA on this drive going south. By now, I've got a general idea of how my car handles under these conditions. Tejon Pass is by far the steepest grade over the longest distance of all the passes I've navigated thus far. There are, of course, passes that are worse, but those are part of the reason why I'm not taking the shortest route from point A to point B. I drive a 1999 Honda Civic with a manual transmission. /end background.

So, I'm happily motoring up the pass. Even though my car is packed with as much stuff as I could cram in it, I was still able to maintain 60-65mph during most of the assent (except when the posted limits on certain curves were lower). Since I was travelling at the posted speed limit, I spent most of my time in the far left (4th) lane, actively passing slower traffic on my right. When I was just a couple miles from the apex of the pass, this pick-up truck came barreling up behind me. There was a pretty solid line of traffic to my right at the time, so I couldn't have moved over even if I wanted to. Besides that, I was travelling at the posted speed limit. For this guy to want to pass me, he would have to be speeding, and with law enforcement out in force, that would not be a wise move. Anyway, I continued to climb the hill, looking for a space in the lane to my right for me to safely move over, even though I would have to slow down (which I did NOT want to do while going uphill...which maybe SS driver was thinking the same thing, but I think the difference here is that he was speeding and I was not). Anyway, it took about a mile before there was a break in traffic large enough for me to move out of his way. In that minute, this guy was flashing his lights at me, swerving, honking, and shaking his fist and making other gestures. I could not believe that this guy was willing to make that big of a ruckus on a stretch of road that is so steep and icky that semis were chugging up it at 15mph and the DOT sees fit to equip with the sheer number of emergency stations that exist on that stretch.

I suppose though, that Karma won in the end. Not too long after he got around me, the cops had him pulled over.

Logged

Some people lift weights. I lift measures. It's a far more esoteric workout. - (Quoted from a personal friend)

The kids were awesome. No disipline probs at all, and with 1st through 5th grades, that's kinda saying something. The parents on the other hand...

My workplace runs massive events for children (and parents) once a month, and I usually volunteer to help run them because they are very enjoyable. We've never, ever had a problem with a kid behaving badly - some minor rambunctiousness like running and generally getting overexcited, but no tantrums or SS behaviour. All the bad behaviour comes from the parents. Mostly either sneaking away from the group into parts of the building they are not allowed and then complaining when caught, or refusing to watch/control their children the tiniest bit (completely ignoring that the kids are running or wandering into off-limits rooms) on the grounds the staff leading the team are in charge. Even though we make it very clear both verbally and in writing that we are not responsible for their children and that they must keep control at all times.

Of course, some schmuck and his wife try to come through as we are still setting up at 7:30. I told the man that he was more than welcome to buy something, but I got to pick three things to go with him...including the flamingo yard ornament made of pink tinsel. They wandered off quickly.

I was working with a customer on an issue that required he do a few tweaks on his account to fix the issue and keep an eye out to see if happens again. After explaining why, and how to fix, the customer then said "I would like a supervisor", I then asked when I ask for one, they need to know why, and then he said "because you were rude". Perhaps, I was rude for asking him for the reason why and following departmental protocol. I then was able to locate one, and when I was ready to send the customer to him per his request, the customer already disconnected the line. Makes me wonder why he wanted one and wasn't willing to wait perhaps, I will never know. I've checked the system, and he has not bothered to contact us back to complain.